Endocrine Aspects of Female Sexual Dysfunction
July 2004
in “
The Journal of Sexual Medicine
”
estrogen testosterone progesterone prolactin sex steroid insufficiency urogenital atrophy systemic estrogen therapy estrogen progestin therapy hypoactive sexual desire disorder HSDD exogenous testosterone androgens hair skin estrogen testosterone progesterone prolactin sex steroid insufficiency urogenital atrophy systemic estrogen therapy estrogen progestin therapy hypoactive sexual desire disorder HSDD exogenous testosterone androgens hair skin
Studysummary This article reviews how various hormones may affect female sexual function and provides recommendations for diagnosing and treating endocrinologic sexual difficulties, but it reports no new clinical results. Our plain-language summary of this paper — not a Tressless recommendation.
The 2004 study "Endocrine Aspects of Female Sexual Dysfunction" investigated the role of hormones in female sexual function. It found that hormones such as estrogen, testosterone, progesterone, and prolactin have complex roles in this area. Sex steroid insufficiency was linked to urogenital atrophy and could negatively impact central sexual thought processes. While systemic estrogen/estrogen progestin therapy was found to alleviate climacteric symptoms, it did not specifically improve hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) in premenopausal or postmenopausal women. Exogenous testosterone was shown to improve sexual desire, arousal, and satisfaction in small randomized controlled trials. However, the study concluded that more research was needed to define safe and effective endocrine treatments for female sexual dysfunction. The paper also called for improved methods for measuring total and free testosterone in women, establishing normal ranges for various androgens in women, and studying the long-term safety of exogenous testosterone, particularly its effects on hair and skin.
